


Something To Come Home To

by FoxyPrince



Series: Taiqrow Feels [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Found Family, M/M, Young Ruby, Young Yang, dads bein dads, everyone is happy, for once, smoochin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 09:52:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17078078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxyPrince/pseuds/FoxyPrince
Summary: Tai has two wonderful daughters and a partner that just wanna make sure his birthday is a good one.





	Something To Come Home To

There was flour still all over the kitchen counter and the floor, not to mention the stuff that clung to their clothes. The sink was piled high with things that had gotten dirtied up along the way, and the cake they had ended up making was a little lopsided. Plus, thanks to a certain excitable young lady’s enthusiasm, they had frosted it before it had fully cooled once it had come out of the oven, so the frosting was runny and unevenly smeared, but damn it all, they had managed to slap “happy birthday dad!” on top fairly legibly, all things considered. That was good enough for Qrow as he stood with his hands proudly on his hips and surveyed the disaster he and his nieces had made of their father’s kitchen. Besides, it was chocolate; Tai would love it no matter what it looked like.

“Uncle Qrow! Dad’s home!!” Yang and Ruby rushed in from where they’d been sitting by the front window to watch for Tai, tugging at his sleeve or dancing in place excitedly. He smiled fondly at both of them, now six and eight, and bent down to scoop Ruby up into his arms.

“Alright already!” he chuckled. “Quit your squirming and yellin’ or he’s gonna know something’s up!”

With his free hand, he picked up the plate the cake rested on and headed into the living room with Yang hot on his heels. He may have possibly fed Tai a little white lie earlier in the day about taking the kids out to eat for the evening, having been careful not to mention anything about the other’s birthday. It had been painful to see the blond deflate at the idea of having to spend the day at work and then coming home to an empty house, but he knew it’d be worth it to see his face light up in just a minute when he realized Qrow hadn’t forgotten his birthday at all.

He sat the cake down on the coffee table and glanced back over his shoulder to make sure they weren’t forgetting anything; sure enough, they’d left the kitchen light on. He tapped Yang on the shoulder and pointed urgently to the light switch as they could hear Tai’s keys jingling just outside the door. Her face lit up with panic only a child could have over such a small thing and then shifted to a steely determination far too large for her chubby, cute little face. She hustled to the switch and flipped it off before trying to run back to Qrow’s side in the dark; she fully made it through the living room and even around the couch, but she miscalculated where her uncle was standing, slamming into the back of his knees. The unexpected force sent him toppling forward, parental instincts kicking in to make his body twist around so that Ruby landed gently against his chest while he took the brunt of the fall.

The door swung open and the lights flicked on, revealing the three of them lying in a pile on the floor. Qrow looked up at an upside down Tai and gave a sheepish grin, thanking the gods that at least the cake had remained in tact.

“...Happy birthday?” he tried after a small silence. The girls immediately echoed him with much more confidence, getting up from him and rushing over to wrap around each of their father’s legs. Tai’s look of surprise finally softened into a fond smile, laughing as he unshouldered his bag and knelt down to hug the two gremlin children crowding around him.

“Well aren’t you three just the sweetest?” He pressed a kiss to both girls’ heads and glanced up at Qrow, who was sitting up and rubbing the back of his head from where he’d banged it on the floor moments ago. He smiled back at Tai and gestured over to the cake on the table.

“You’re gonna reconsider that sentiment when you see what we did to the kitchen,” he chuckled.

“Oh, boy…” Tai let go of Ruby and Yang, who of course immediately hurried back over to where the cake was sat, and turned to close the front door, sitting his bag off to the side to be moved later. Qrow stood up and brushed himself off.

“Can we eat now?!” Yang bounced slightly from one foot to the other, looking between her uncle and her father.

“Pleeeeease?!!” Ruby added, already sticking her finger into the frosting. Qrow looked over at Tai to see him nod before heading to the kitchen to get some plates and forks for the four of them.

“Now, remember,” he started, almost sternly to Tai as he began cutting the cake, “this was made with love and patience and the limited knowledge of a man who grew up living in the woods, so if it’s terrible, don’t blame me.” He shot the other a cheeky grin as he plated his piece and handed it to him. Then he cut much smaller pieces for the girls and finally a piece for himself, settling down onto the opposite end of the couch from Tai with Ruby and Yang in between them. 

“Qrow, you say that about everything you cook, and it always turns out to be just fine,” Tai says reassuringly, taking the first bite of his cake. Qrow was watching his face for a reaction, still a little nervous that it might not be very good, but as Tai looked over with a raised brow, he realized Yang and Ruby were doing the same. They must have looked rather silly, all gawking at the blond as he casually ate some birthday cake; Qrow’s cheeks turned pink as he quickly looked away, digging into his own food finally. He hummed and licked the frosting off his fork, wiggling just slightly both from how good it was and from pride in having made something tasty. When he looked down at Ruby, she was staring up at him now, giggling and doing a more enthusiastic full body wiggle as she stuffed more cake into her mouth.

\----

They spent the rest of the afternoon playing out in the yard with the girls, running around for tag or counting down for hide and seek (even if Uncle Qrow always seemed to be the best at hiding). Once the sun had started to set, they all headed back into the house to settle down and watch a movie together. Yang had curled up between the armrest and Tai while Ruby had snuggled up in Qrow’s lap, leaving Tai free to wrap his arm around the back of the couch behind Qrow, who might have leaned into the other just a touch. Despite her best efforts to find out whether the good guys prevailed in the end or not, Ruby passed out in Qrow’s arms about two thirds of the way through the movie, and by the time the credits rolled, Yang was started to nod off against her father’s side.

“I should probably get these babies to bed, huh…” Tai said softly, grabbing the remote and flicking the TV off.

“Nah, I got ‘em. Don’t worry about it,” Qrow said, gently patting his thigh before standing up with Ruby. “C’mon, darlin’.” He held his other hand out to Yang who yawned and stretched as she slid off the couch to take it.

“G’night, Dad. I love you. Happy birthday,” she mumbled, words running together a little and seeming less excited though only due to being so tired. Tai reached out and patted her on the head, moving a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

“Night, sunshine. Love you, too, and thank you so much for the cake. Made my birthday feel extra special!” She smiled as he kissed her forehead.

Slowly, they padded up the stairs together and made their way to the girls’ room where Yang let go of her uncle’s hand and climbed up into her bed. Qrow laid Ruby down extra carefully to keep from waking her. As he slid her covers up to her chin, he realized just how big she’d gotten and sighed, really feeling his age for a moment. Then he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead before moving over to Yang. She sat up and hugged him, giving him a kiss on his cheek that he returned in kind.

“Thanks for being such a big help today, kiddo. Don’t think we coulda pulled it off without you.” She beamed up at him with big, tired blue eyes as she lied back into bed and arranged her blankets.

“Good night, firecracker.” He patted one of her little arms and stood up to leave, the small “night Uncle Qrow” following after him warming his heart.

When he came back down the stairs, Tai was sitting on the couch with a second piece of cake, stuffing his face contentedly. Qrow huffed a soft laugh as he moved to sit beside him again, sitting slightly sideways and tucking his legs under himself to face him with an arm propping up his head against the back of the couch. Tai looked up at him with a mouth full of food and smiled.

“You dumbass…” Qrow chuckled, shaking his head. “How was work today? Have to knock any kids’ heads together?” Tai swallowed before answering.

“Nah, kids were good today. One of my classes all chipped in to get me a really cool looking dragon statuette to sit on my desk and a really sweet card they all signed. Honestly, I don’t think I could ask for a better group of kids this year…” He trailed off, finishing the last few bites of his cake and sitting the plate over on the coffee table.

“And, you know…” He said, turning to face Qrow on the couch, “I couldn’t really ask for a better partner to come home to, either.” The praise immediately turned Qrow’s face red, eyes darting down to stare at his lap, but he smiled nonetheless, glad he’d been able to make Tai happy.

“Had ya there for a second though, didn’t I?” he joked, trying to brush off his embarrassment.

“That was a mean trick, Mr. Branwen. It’s not nice to play tricks on people’s birthdays, you know?” One of Tai’s hands slid forward to gently rest on Qrow’s waist, thumb rubbing over his tummy through his shirt. When Qrow looked up at him, the warm affection in his eyes was almost too much to look at directly, so instead he just shut his eyes and slotted his mouth against the other’s. Tai made a soft noise in his throat and leaned into it, scooting closer and bringing his hand up from the other’s waist to cup his face tenderly. Qrow’s hands moved to his shoulders, one continuing on to run up his neck and into the short hair on the back of his head. The kisses were slow and soft, Tai’s tongue flicking along the seam of the other’s mouth. While he was every bit content with continuing just as they were, Qrow pulled back and took a small breath before opening his eyes to grin at his partner.

“I, um… The cake was your present from the girls, but… Figure if you’re ready for bed, I might could give you something a little more grown up,” he tried, stuttering slightly despite trying to sound cool. Tai just laughed softly and pressed their foreheads together before leaning into a much more passionate kiss, hands moving to slide underneath Qrow and lift him by his thighs. Standing from the couch, he fumbled his way to the stairs with his lips still firmly against the other’s and headed up to their bedroom.

All around, he had to say: it was a pretty good birthday.

**Author's Note:**

> Will I ever write RWBY fics that aren't taiqrow?  
> Maybe.  
> But not today.


End file.
